What are your recommendations on a very quiet PSU

[amt]

I currently have a Thermaltake 680W PSU it has 2 80mm fans without any manual control. Its the noisest component on the PC. Choices may be limited as some of the quiet PSU's I've seen have fans mounted on top but I don't have a blowhole so this type is probably not suited and no I don't want to butcher my case! TIA.

 

[amheck]

Seasonic

 

[Bobthelost]

The fans ARE NOT mounted on top, the PSU is upside down in the picture

What is your system? Odds are you don't need a 600W PSU, so you could save a bit of money with a 500W model.

If you have VERY good airflow you could get a passive PSU, that's dead silent, but only really practical for very well ventilated cases. If you don't want to spend that much money on it then the quietest fanned PSUs are the seasonic s12 range. (there have been compatability issues with DFI boards, not all boards and not all s12 PSUs, but some issues).

Other alternatives include (but not exclusivly) the Enermax liberty and the Antec Neo HE (NOT WITH ASUS MOTHERBOARDS, a rather common compatability issue there)

 

[Luckyboy1]

Is it possible to just replace the fans with something not quite as noisy?

If not, this is whisper quiet...

http://www.magnum-pc.com/product.asp?pf_id=OCZ52012U&dept_id=05-002

or if you are i the mood for even more quiet power...

http://www.magnum-pc.com/product.asp?pf_id=OCZ600ADJ&dept_id=05-002

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: Luckyboy1
Is it possible to just replace the fans with something not quite as noisy?

If not, this is whisper quiet...

http://www.magnum-pc.com/product.asp?pf_id=OCZ52012U&dept_id=05-002

or if you are i the mood for even more quiet power...

http://www.magnum-pc.com/product.asp?pf_id=OCZ600ADJ&dept_id=05-002

What i'd like to know is why they are never mentioned at SPCR, or have never been reviewed by them. If they were so quiet you'd expect them to get more press for it. Any good scientific noise measurement in the reviews that you know of?

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: amheck
Seasonic

 

[LOUISSSSS]

fsp's are as silent as seasonics and have neater cables..

 

[InlineFour]

what are your computer specs? it's a total waste of money to suggest a $100 PSU if you're only running a p4 2.0ghz for example.

 

[Luckyboy1]

Originally posted by: InlineFour
what are your computer specs? it's a total waste of money to suggest a $100 PSU if you're only running a p4 2.0ghz for example.

Excellent point!

Why are there no flowery reviews for OCZ Powerstreams?...

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/p...anagement/ocz_powerstream_power_supply

Scroll down to the bottom and take your pick. On the way, look at the awards given.

 

[Luckyboy1]

And please don't miss what Anandtech has to say about them as well.

 

[Indyboy2]

enermax liberty is very quiet used in last build

 

[Jjoshua2]

How does enermax liberty compare to fsp on a DFI-ultraD?

 

[Arcanedeath]

Get a Seasonic S12 500 or 600 watt unit you will not be disapointed.

 

[EndGame]

Seasonic......quiet as can be and efficient.

 

[Jjoshua2]

But I've read that Seasonic S-series can have trouble with DFI, I thought even the Ultra-D did.

 

[EndGame]

Originally posted by: Jjoshua2
But I've read that Seasonic S-series can have trouble with DFI, I thought even the Ultra-D did.

Was talking to the OP.........yeah, if you have the DFI, go for the Fortron or Enermax

 

[Jjoshua2]

And I was wanting to throw in a quick question about which one. The enermax liberty 400w seemed pretty nice at a little under $80. I was wondering how competitive it was to different FSP models.

 

[amt]

specs are;

MSI K8N Diamond SLi
Opteron 170
2x 1GB Corsair value
250gb sata hdd
X800 Radeon 256 ddr3

Noise specs are dubious to say the least, my PSU is rated at 19dBA at 3000rpm which utter bullshit. Some of the PSU recommended are higher at 23dBA so what am I really getting?

 

[furballi]

The Enermax 495 V2.0 is also very quiet. 80% efficient PSU with manual control of fan speed if the load is under 40%.

 

[Jjoshua2]

How's it different from enermax liberty series?

 

[Arcanedeath]

I run an S12 600 watt unit A1 rev w/ my DFI SLI-DR board and it works just fine they fixed the compatiblity issued w/ the rev A2 of the S12 and all S12 untis are rev A2 or later (the orginal rev normaly didn't work and A1 was 50/50 shot hit or miss but A2 seems to have no issues) I stand by my rec for the S12 PSU if you are looking for silence and efficency its the way to go.

 

[furballi]

All the wires are soldered to the board. This eliminates voltage drop at high current draw (0.1V drop with 10A and 0.01ohm contact resistance). The 495 also uses two fans in a push/pull design (92mm and 80mm). The 495 does not come with PFC. However, this will not save $ on electricity since US home residences are not billed for the apparent power used.